"Fourth Annual A-Town Jazz Festival" featuring Greg Hopkins & Lydia Harrell

ARLINGTON, Mass. - March 12, 2015 - PRLog -- The town of Arlington will once again pulse with the sounds of jazz when the Fourth Annual A-Town Jazz Festival kicks in on April 11th and 12th. The Festival, hosted by Dan Fox and Morningside Music Studio, features renowned jazz trumpeter-composer Greg Hopkins, best known for his writing and performing with the Buddy Rich Band and his 40 years as a professor at Berklee College of Music. Also headlining the Festival bill will be vocalist Lydia Harrell accompanied by her LovelySingerBand.

Greg Hopkins will be featured as part of Manduca Sexta, a jazz sextet led by bassist and composer Manuel Kaufmann,which explores both powerful and more impressionistic sound and feels. www.greghopkins.net, www.facebook.com/manuel.kaufmann.9

Lydia Harrell's sultry, soulful voice and evocative phrasings have garnered her the attention and respect of the area’s finest musicians and venues. Be it performing with the Boston Pops or serenading Boston Celtics fans with the National Anthem, Harrell's dedication to extracting the pure essence of song is virtually unmatched. www.lovelysinger.com

Festival host Dan Fox has this to say about this year's Festival: "I am very excited to have to have acts of such a high caliber at this year’s festival. It will really showcase some of the amazing talent we have right here in the Boston area. We will transform the Arlington Center for the Arts theatre space into a jazz club setting complete with table seating and intimate lighting.”

Dan Fox, no stranger to the music scene, is a Boston-based trombonist and bassist and Director of Morningside Music Studio. He has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Boston Globe Jazz Festival and recently was a featured soloist at the Mallorca Jazz Festival in Spain. He leads his own bands Made in the Shade and ‘TarBone and has performed a wide range of jazz styles with groups like the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, the Cab Calloway Orchestra, and the Either/Orchestra. His Morningside Music Studio, located in Arlington, gives students of all levels the opportunity to play in weekly jazz ensembles.www.danfox.com, www.morningsidemusicstudio.com

A-Town Jazz Festival Schedule:

Saturday, April 11th:
--7:30-9:00 pm: “Meeting of Generations” featuring Arlington’s best high school age students performing swing music. With special guest, veteran reedman Tom Ferrante. Supported by a grant from the Arlington Cultural Council.
Free and open to all.
Arlington Senior Center,27 Maple St, Arlington 02476.
For more information, visit www.morningsidemusicstudio.com, 617-909-7776, danfox1@verizon.net.

Sunday, April 12th:
--2:00-3:30 pm: Performances by student groups led by Dan Fox;
--3:30-4:00 pm: Hernandez/Rosario Project (latin jazz quartet);
--4:00-5:00 pm: Manduca Sexta (Manuel Kaufmann's jazz sextet featuring Greg Hopkins on trumpet);
--5:00-6:00 pm: LovelySinger Band (featuring vocalist Lydia Harrell, with Baron Brown on bass, Mark Shilansky on keys, and Barry Lit on drums).
General admission $15, students/seniors $10, children under 12 $5. Advance tickets www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1375725. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Arlington Center for the Arts, 41 Foster Street, Arlington 02474. (The Center is wheelchair accessible with plenty of free parking.)
For more information, visit www.morningsidemusicstudio.com, 617-909-7776, danfox1@verizon.net.